2019 international short Film Festival Winners
Best Film & Best Actor: ARI
Being a kid is tough, being yourself is harder. Ari finds courage and self-acceptance in the most unexpected way.
Director | Alex Murawski
Run time | 9:25 minutes
Alex Murawski studied film directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School where he won the Myer Award for Exceptional Talent. He received Hot Shots Program funding through Screen Australia to make the short film ARI, which premiered at TIFFKids 2016. Alex is currently developing his first feature film.
BEST ANIMATED FILM: ELI
This is a true story based on the filmmaker’s experiences within the realms of High Strangeness, Magical Thinking and Manic Delusion.
Director | Nate Milton
Run Time | 11:11 minutes
Nate is an American Director and Designer living in New York City. He created and produced an Animated Series for Facebook Watch. Four of his short films have become Vimeo Staff Picks. He has also directed editorial and commercial work for HBO, Airbnb and NPR.
MFI SPIRIT AWARD: EAST OF THE RIVER
Teonna is unexpectedly suspended from school and is faced with a day on the streets of Washington, DC. Teonna encounters Malik, who is also out of school, and Sara, who left school because she saw a more economic opportunity on the streets. The three set out for an adventure that takes them east of the Anacostia River.
Director | Hannah Peterson
Run Time | 13:17 minutes
Hannah Peterson is a filmmaker living and working in Los Angeles, and a recent graduate of the MFA program in Film Directing at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Filmmaker Magazine named Hannah as one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2018.
BEST ACTRESS: SOMETIMES, I THINK ABOUT DYING
Fran is thinking about dying, but a man in the office might want to date her.
Director | Stefanie Abel Horowitz
Running Time | 12:20 minutes
Stefanie Abel Horowitz directed theater for a decade before pivoting to film. SOMETIMES, I THINK ABOUT DYING is her second short film, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. She is currently participating in the 2019 New Voices Sundance Lab with an episodic project she’s co-creating with Daisy Long.